Clothes-line reel.



PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907.

WI GLOTHES LINE REEL.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 17, 1906.

MUELLER.

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WILLIAM MOELLER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

\ CLOTHES-LINE REEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 3, 1907.

Application filed September 17. 1906. Serial No. 33 L840.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM MQELLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Clothes-LineReels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to clothes line reels one of the objects thereofbeing to provide a simple, convenient and inexpensive construction ofdevice of this character, whereby the line may be wound up when not inuse and conveniently unwound and stretched across a yard for use.

Another object is to provide a device of this character having a casingto inclose a reel and serve as a compartment for clothes pins, as wellas to provide a novel construction of door controlling the opening forthe insertion and removal of the pins, and. means for guiding andapplying a proper tension to the line.

In the accompanying drawin s, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a clothesine reel embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.Fig. 3 is a central vertical front-to-rear section. Fig. 4 is a rearelevation. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through the casing on the lineof the reel shaft.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the casing of the device, whichmay be of any preferred form and construction, but, as shown, comprisesside walls 2, a back wall 3, and a front wall 4. Preferably, the sideand back walls are formed of wood and the front wall of metal, thelatter having its upper end eXtendin to form the top wall 5, and itslower enc extended to form the bottom wall 6. These walls, 4, 5 and 6,may be constructed of a single piece of sheet metal bent into thedesired form and suitably fastened to the walls 2 and 3, the frontportion of the top wall 5 being suitably curved or rounded to form ashield or rain shed to facilitate the discharge of rain water falling onthe casing.

Arranged at the sides of the casing are brackets 7, each of which isenlarged .to form a bearing plate 8 provided with a rearwardly extendingbracing arm 9 bent laterally and secured to the rear of the casin andextending upwardly and bent outwar ly and downwardly at its upper end toprovide a hooked hanger 10, the two hangers afiording meansby which thecasing may be suspended from a fence or other supporting structure.Plates 11 are secured to the lower portion of the wall 3 and dependtherefrom and are apertured for the passage of suitable fastenings tofix the casing firmly in position upon the fence or other supportingstructure.

Arranged within the casing is a reel shaft 12, the ends of which extendthrough openings in the side walls 2 and are journaled in the bearingplates 8, one end of said shaft being provided with an actuating crankhandle 13. One of the plates 8 is provided with an annular row or seriesof apertures 14 adapted to receive a pin 15, by which the handle 13 maybe held'in a desired position to maintain the clothes line taut andprevent the same from unwinding from the shaft. The shaft is providedwith end disks or heads 16 to retain the line 17 thereon. One end of theline is suitably fastened to the shaft, while the other end thereofprojects therefrom through a slot or opening 18 formed in the front wall4:. Below the slot the wall 4 is provided with a door-way or openings 19through which clothes pins and the like may be inserted and withdrawnfrom the casing 1, the latter thus serving as a storagereceptacle forsuch adjuncts. The top and bottom edges of the slotted portion 1.9.arebent to form guides 20 for engagement with the upper and lower hookededges of a sliding door 21, which carries on its outer side a guide 22for the line 17. The guide is provided with a curved or arcuatepassagefor the line, the walls of which serve to bind with sufiicient frictionon the line to hold the same tautand 1prevent too free unwinding of theline from t e reel, Guide 22 also serves as a handle by,means of whichthe door may be opened or closed for the insertion and removal of theclothes pins, the door having a range of opening movementsuflicient forthe insertion of the hand.

In 0 eration the free end of the line projects t rough the slot 18 andguide 22 and the crank handle 13 is normally locked by the pin 15. Whenit is desired to arrange the line for supporting clothes to be dried, apin 15, which is supported from the'casing by a holding cord or chain23, is removed from the opening 14 in which it is seated, leaving therope free to unwind. The line or rope may then be withdrawn andstretched back and forth across a yard around suitable guide andsupporting pulleys and fastened at its free end to the fence or othersuitable support. To take down the line the free end thereof isunfastened, the pin 15, which has been previously applied to lock thecrank handle from rotation to prevent further paying out of the line, isremoved and the handle 13 actuated to wind up the line until the freeend thereof reaches the position shown in the drawings,

I wish it to be understood that in addition to forming a closure for theopening 19, the door reciprocates back and forth as the line is wound orunwound from the reel and perorms the function of a feed guide to causethe line to'wind and unwind equally, thus preventing it from binding inits passage through the slot 18.

It must be seen that my invention provides a simple and inexpensiveconstruction of apparatus by which the clothes line may be convenientlyextended for use and woundup and protected while out of use, and meansare also provided for the storage of clothes pins and other accessoriesand for readily inserting them within and withdrawing them from thecasing.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: v

A clothes line rreel comprising the casing provided with a transverseguide slot and a i doorway below said slot, the upper and lower edgeWalls of saiddoorway being bent to form guides, a sliding door forclosing said doorway, said door being provided with a hooked u" er andlower ed e to en a e the V guides, a ne guide upon the door, independent bracket plates at the respective" ends of the casing, each ofsaid bracket," plates being provided with a bearing portion and alsoprovided with supporting hooks, a

inserted in any one of the said openings of said bracket plate to holdthe crank handle H of the shaft as specified.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM MOELLER against movement, substantially Witnesses:

THOMAS A. LAWRENCE, WALTER CHANT.

the guide upon plates, and a pin adapted to be

